Commenting on shadow home secretary Andy Burnham’s speech, Lib Dem chief whip Tom Brake says: “Only Andy Burnham can resign half way through his own speech."

“I believe in politics there are weathervanes and sign posts. Andy Burnham is the weathervane in a gale.  He has had more views on immigration than I’ve had hot dinners.

“For a man who has spent his life facing both ways on this critical issue, his speech today takes the biscuit.”

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Following his resignation, Andy Burnham says it's not a blow to the leader "in any way" and it's "right" for him to step back. 

He also defends the idea of a deadline for taking stock of party unity, arguing it would allow Labour to "get on with the job". 

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Image source, PA

Andy Burnham, who just told conference he will not continue as shadow home secretary, tells the World at One "there is a need for limits and controls of unskilled migration" but "we should not go anywhere near" proposals for a hard Brexit.

He suggests there could be a return to the way immigration worked before the Maastricht treaty, "when people came here with a firm job offer, not in a speculative way".   

He admits there are differences between him and Jeremy Corbyn on this issue, which is because "immigration affects different parts of the country in different ways". 

Image source, AP

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has released a statement following the death of former Israeli president Shimon Peres, saying he is "deeply saddened" by the news. 

He said: "In my last conversation with him he told me that 'pessimists and optimists pass away the same way. But if you leave as an optimist you have had a better life'.

"He certainly had a better life and throughout his long and distinguished career he was a towering figure in Israel and around the world. He was a man of action but also one of peace and we should remember his tireless efforts to secure a lasting peace for the Middle East."

The Daily Politics

The Daily Politics

The Daily Politics

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock says while the Brexit vote sends a "clear message" about the need for immigration control it "does not necessarily mean a hard Brexit". 

He acknowledges Theresa May "is seen as an effective and tough negotiator" and Labour's job is to "hold her feet to the fire" on this issue. 

The Daily Politics

Image source, bb

Delegates applaud an emotional Andy Burnham after his last conference speech as a Labour frontbencher.

Image source, bb

Andy Burnham says Labour is the only hope for people who don't want "a hard Brexit" and the party should champion "a fair Brexit".

He says many Labour supporters voted to leave the EU in June and "we haven't even begun to understand why".

The shadow home secretary tells the Labour conference: "The EU was working better for some parts of country than it was for others."

He says his constituents in Leigh, Greater Manchester, are not xenophobes but oppose "unlimited" unskilled migration "which damages their living standards".

Andy Burnham says he will leave the shadow cabinet to concentrate on the race for Manchester mayor.

He says "the last 12 months" in Labour have made him "profoundly sad".

Echoing comments from deputy leader Tom Watson yesterday, he says he has been saddened to hear the achievements of the last Labour government "dismissed as if they were nothing".

Some in the party "seem to prefer fighting each other than fighting the Tories", he says, adding that he has been loyal to "all four Labour leaders" he has served.

Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham calls for an inquiry into the events at Orgreave during the miners' strike, for which he has long campaigned.

He tells Theresa May: "Fulfil your promise on the steps of Downing Street to heal divides and order it now."

Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham MP, who is running to be mayor of Greater Manchester, addresses conference.

He says he has been asked by Liverpool MP Steve Rotheram how he would handle his "football loyalties" if he wins in Manchester.

The Everton fan says he will be impartial and "equally in favour of both City and United beating Liverpool on a regular basis".

There are some boos at that point, as well as laughter.

Lord Dubs is among those giving Yvette Cooper a standing ovation as she is embraced by shadow home secretary Andy Burnham.

Yvette Cooper calls for a "serious, thoughtful debate" on immigration, which she claims Labour cannot have "if we dig in" on the policy.

She gets bigger applause when she attacks Nigel Farage's EU referendum campaign poster, saying Labour should never "use a poster of desperate refugees to stoke fear and hatred".

She adds: "That man should be ashamed."

"These are children whose lives are at stake," says Labour MP Yvette Cooper.

The chair of Labour's Refugee Task Force urges people not to "walk by on the other side".

She argues that "helping refugees does not mean open borders" and calls for an efficient asylum system, so that "refugees can get swift help and illegal migrants have to return".

The former shadow home secretary adds that it is not racist to recognise the concerns of those who say that "low-skilled migration" should come down.